Luca Zidane

Luca Zidane is a goalkeeper in Algeria's projected squad for the 2026 World Cup, in contention for a place in Vladimir Petković's group rather than a confirmed name in a final 26 that has yet to be announced. The Granada keeper is 28 at kick-off and plays his club football in the Spanish second division.

He is the son of Zinedine Zidane and came through the Real Madrid academy before building his senior career in Spain. After representing France at youth level, he chose to play for Algeria, the country of his paternal grandparents from the Kabylie region, and made his international debut during World Cup qualifying in October 2025. Six caps in, he is one of several goalkeepers Algeria are weighing ahead of the tournament, his place still to be settled when the final 26 is named.

As a goalkeeper, Zidane's job covers the core demands of the position: shot-stopping, claiming crosses, and organising the defence in front of him. A Real Madrid academy product, he brings that development background into a senior career now centred on Spain and Algeria's goalkeeping group.

At senior international level he is still establishing himself, having only recently broken into the Algeria setup. For the 2026 World Cup he is one of the goalkeeping options in Petković's pool, competing for the starting place rather than going in as the established number one.

In Goal Rush a goalkeeper is a different kind of pick to a forward: Zidane's role is to keep Algeria in matches rather than to add goals, so his value comes from the team's defensive record rather than personal output. Algeria are a £10m Tier 4 side, the lowest band within the game's £200m card budget. Their Group J opens against Argentina on 16 June, with Jordan and Austria after.

On the matchdays he starts, his job is to keep the opposition out while the forwards ahead of him chase the goals that move an Algeria card.